From Suez Fables To World Stages

A lot of people know the story about how "Aida" was commissioned to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal.

It's one of those facts that circulate widely, even in a number of opera history books, and it's such a natural of a story that it seems almost a shame that it isn't true.

"Aida" was commissioned by the Khedive of Egypt, who had to make several overtures, so to speak, before Verdi would agree to do the project. The contract was financially generous, but stipulated that Verdi complete the opera in six months. He finished it in four.

The premiere, in Cairo, was initially scheduled for January of 1871, two years after the canal had opened. But problems getting the scenery out of Paris -- where the Franco-Prussian war was going on -- delayed the actual premiere until Christmas Eve, almost a full year later.

"Aida" was a success at its premiere, although Verdi, who disliked public adulation and who furthermore was afraid of sea travel, did not attend.

A few weeks later, the opera was produced in Milan at La Scala, where it was thunderously received. This time Verdi did attend and was obliged to take a number of curtain calls.

Early enthusiasm for the piece was not quite universal. A young man named Prospero Bertani wrote to Verdi that he had traveled twice to Parma to hear the new opera, and had come to the conclusion that it was without merit. He therefore requested that the composer reimburse him for his two tickets, his two train fares from his hometown of Reggio and for the two dinners he ate along the way. Verdi directed his publisher to send Bertani the money, except for the dinners, which, the composer reasoned, Bertani could have just as well eaten at home.

In due course, "Aida" was taken up by the major opera houses throughout the world, and became one of the most popular operas of all time.

At the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the opera was first seen in 1886. It has been performed 680 times since then, making it the most-often-performed work in the history of the company. (Puccini's "La Boheme" is a close second at 674.)

"Aida" is also the No. 1 all-time work at the Royal Opera House (Covent Garden) in London, and is fourth on the all-time list at

the Vienna State Opera.

The monumental size of the opera, and especially its majestic second act, has inspired a number of huge productions over the years. In particular, the open-air amphitheater at Verona, Italy, has become identified with large-scale, animal-rich productions. Ironically, the piece has never been particularly popular in Egypt and was rarely seen there until 1987, when a grossly hyped production, starring Placido Domingo, was staged outdoors in ancient Luxor. That production employed 150,000 Egyptian soldiers and a chorus of several hundred. The ticket price was also majestic: $750.

In 1953 a feature movie was made of "Aida," with Sophia Loren in the title role; Renata Tebaldi dubbed her singing voice. "It's the kind of opera movie," according to one critic, "that gives opera a bad name." "Aida" was the third-to-last of Verdi's 26 operas, written when the composer was in his late 50s. Sixteen years would pass before he would write his next opera, "Otello." The self-effacing composer once wrote in a letter: "[Aida] is by no means the worst thing I've written, and time will give it the place it deserves." Time has.